Predicting Dynamics of Forested Landscapes from Individual- based Models of Tree Performance

9729245神户植被生态学的众多研究侧重于森林群落的描绘和描述，往往与土壤属性有关。然而，相对较少的研究从更机械性的角度解释物种组成的差异，即树种如何随着不同森林群落类型提供的资源可用性而变化。此外，物种间相互作用的站点间差异以及随后对群落组成的影响仍然很少被探索。这项研究的目的是(1)描述北方阔叶林景观中五种主要树种幼树在不同生态土地类型下的资源依赖性生长；(2)评估幼树生长的变化是否能预测特定资源条件下的优势树种。这项研究的重点是树苗，因为它们在影响森林群落动态方面具有重要意义。选定的树种(白栎属、红栎属、红枫属、甘蔗属、白皮松属)涵盖了一系列的遮荫耐受性和成熟树与土壤特性的关系，因此，为实现本研究的目标提供了必要的变异。归根结底，这种类型的信息可以提供对物种-栖息地关系的更机械的理解，从而可以更好地预测森林景观对人类干预的反应。

9729245 Kobe Numerous studies in vegetation ecology have focused on the delineation and description of forest communities, often in relation to soil attributed. However, relatively few studies have explained variation in species composition from the more mechanistic perspective of how tree species vary in performance in response to resource availability, as supplied by different forest community types. Furthermore, among-site variation in species interactions and subsequent influence on community composition remain little explored. The objectives of the research established with this Postdoctoral Fellowship Starter Grant are to (1) characterize the resource-dependent growth of juveniles of five dominant tree species in different ecological land types in a landscape of northern hardwoods forest, and (2) evaluate if variation in sapling growth predicts the dominant canopy tree species under specified resource conditions. The study's emphasis is on saplings because of their importance in influencing forest community dynamics. The chosen species (Quercus alba, Q. rubra, Acer rubrum, A. saccharum, Pinus strobus) span a range of shade tolerances and mature-tree associations with soil properties, and thus, provide the variation necessary to address the objectives of this research. Ultimately, this type of information can provide a more mechanistic understanding of species-habitat relationships which can provide better predictions of the response of forested landscapes to human intervention.